“Our Hands, Their Wings” Participates in World Shorebirds Day

September 20, 2019

Sharon Montecino
Environmental Engineer / ROC
Mouth of the Maipo River, Chile

From the south part of the world, in Chile, the Mouth of the Maipo River is preparing to receive millions of migrating shorebirds that will soon arrive to rest and feed in its estuary this season. Its habitat will also be used for reproduction by local shorebirds. The project “Our Hands, Their Wings” aims to reduce treats that are currently affecting shorebirds in the wetland of the Maipo River by these three lines of action: 1. Promote environmental education and awareness; 2. Encourage citizen participation in local environmental management; and 3. Generate green infrastructure and spaces for sustainable uses.

To date, we have been progressing on education and citizen participation through local coordination, promoting the protection and value of these coastal ecosystems through the implementation of activities and programs across different sectors of the community (schools, NGOs, municipalities and others). In the next few days we will begin working on sustainable uses, generating green infrastructure that will regulate the public use of the site, with the goal of allowing organized recreational activities that will not harm these habitats where shorebirds, rest, feed and nest.